Well, holy info dump. Usually when there is an episode this exposition heavy, we have a bunch of talking heads and no real movement. Somehow the producers managed to make what was essentially all backstory engaging.

This time we got to learn even more about Davina, and finally some stuff about Sophie. I have to say, I'm really liking Davina now. She has every reason in the world to act out and throw tantrums about her situation, but instead she's turned that into hope and a quiet rage. She wants the magic to go away, she wants to be normal again. She knows where her uber magic comes from, and hates it. She doesn't want to be the only survivor of a slaughter, but she is, and I think she's handling it pretty darn well.

What is really cool is that Davina still has the ability to trust someone like Elijah. She even hid his awakening from Marcel. I guess Klaus' plan to sow seeds of doubt into Davina's trust of Marcel worked, though now that we know the circumstances of how they became close, I'm a little sad that that wedge has formed. Marcel and Sophie tried to stop the Harvest, and now through grief, Sophie is trying to finish what was started that night. I think every character's motivations make sense, even though some of their actions left an unpleasant taste in my mouth.

Marcel came out looking like a hero in this one, although he did benefit from that tragedy the most. The witches came across as pretty evil, even if they did believe those girls would be resurrected. I honestly don't know what I believe, because the whole Harvest thing felt like the desperate grasp by frightened people to keep a hold of something that might not even be fading. Will the witches' power really disappear in time if they don't finish the ritual? Or was it all just myth masquerading as prophecy? One thing I'm sort of sure about is that Sophie is not on the right side of this one, even if you can't blame her for her reasons.

Davina can't exactly give up and say sure, kill me and hope for the best. She wants to live, and I think the Mikaelson family is in her corner on that count. So is Marcel and Father Kieran, but not for the same reasons. Marcel wants to hold onto his power, and a big part of that involves keeping the witches in check. Father Kieran seems to just want to keep the supernatural world from consuming his people (as the representative of the humans in New Orleans), and this struggle is threatening their safety.

The other big reveal was that Father Kieran is Cami's uncle, and that the witches were the ones that put the spell on Sean that made him kill those seminary students and take his own life. I honestly thought that mystery would stretch out for another couple of episodes. But I loved Klaus' reaction when Marcel told him about it. Klaus really is starting to care, and the humanity he showed in that reaction was very cool.

The same could be said for Rebekah's reaction to Elijah's return. Elijah didn't do tremendously much in this episode, but his return felt kind of perfect. He used his situation to gain information and advantage, and even made a deal with Davina. It was a fascinating deal, too - his freedom for his mother's Grimoires. Those books have to have some very powerful spells in them, perhaps even the one that created vampires? Could Davina use that knowledge to find a way to kill an Original? I hope not. I'm a big Elijah fan and Rebekah and Klaus have grown on me with every episode.

Bits:

Hayley didn't have much to do in this episode, but the romantic sparks between her and Elijah were delightful. So was her slap. It properly defused the tension between them without destroying the obvious sparkage going on.

The "Mikaelson miracle baby" plot is unfolding slowly, and it looks like an extreme faction of witches really don't want the baby to be born.

Davina is so powerful that a single drop of her blood was enough to completely restore Elijah instantaneously. Wow.

Rebekah may have hopped on board the "protect Hayley" bandwagon, but she has yet to call the baby "my niece" or refer to it as a family member. She's still basically calling her an "it".

Marcel and Sophie were an item eight months ago. A secret item. I wonder if that'll come into play later in the season.

Monique (one of the girls killed in the Harvest) was Davina's best friend and Sophie's niece.

A witch, a werewolf and a vampire walk into the bayou… I pretty much loved all the scenes with Rebekah, Hayley, and Sophie walking around sniping at each other.

Rebekah slapping at the mosquito was hilarious. I guess even vampires have to deal with mosquitoes in the bayou, though the bloodsucker on bloodsucker irony is a bit on the nose.

I think the witches deserved to lose their power. Human sacrifice is crossing the big line, and I can't believe their ancestors would approve. Bonnie's spirit ancestors were pretty nasty when it came to going to dark places.

Marcel coming down on the witches seemed like persecution in the pilot, but he didn't do it until they crossed the line. I really like that he has a rule about children. I think Klaus has the same rule. Probably not a coincidence, since Klaus is Marcel's mentor.

So Rebekah and Marcel have some secrets about their relationship that they're keeping from Klaus.

I like Kieran. He's interesting, and I wonder how Marcel is going to react now that he knows about Cami.

I think Klaus is a little afraid of Elijah. Maybe it's a big brother thing, or maybe it's because Elijah's a better fighter (even though Klaus is more powerful). It comes across as Klaus having the petulant little brother syndrome.

Quotes:

Klaus: "How, may I ask, was this particular vision interpreted?"
Sophie: "Pretty much that your baby would bring death to all witches."
Klaus: "Ah, well, I grow fonder of this child by the second."

Rebekah: "What is all that dreadful hillbilly ruckus in the background?"
Klaus: "According to the dreadful signage, it's Big Auggie's Bayou Bar."

Elijah: "I will fight for my family until my last breath."
Davina: "And I'll fight the witches until mine."

Rebekah: (to Hayley) "I don't care if we have to get you a leash. That's your last trip to the bayou."

Dense with exposition, but a really good episode. I hope this trend of quality continues, because this show is shaping up to be fun and original (pun intended).

1 comment:

It occurred to me watching the Elijah/Hayley reunion scene that Phoebe Tonkin is almost as tall as Daniel Gillies. I had to go look it up, he's 5'11", and she's 5'10", wow. And holy smokes they make one gorgeous couple. :)